Cold December Night
by Kitsune Moonstar
Summary: Dana finds that working Christmas Eve is not without its rewards.


Author's Note: I do not own Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue or its characters. This is set after the series.

* * *

><p><strong>Cold December Night<strong>

The snow had just started to fall when Ryan and Kelsey headed out. The pair had dropped by the firehouse to drop off a bunch of Christmas treats. Dana watched them drive off with a smile. She was happy for both her older brother and her best friend. They were good for one another, and they were really cute together. She sighed softly. She was stuck with working on Christmas Eve this year. To be fair, Dana would rather it be her than one of her coworkers who had kids, but she was still feeling a little melancholy.

Christmas did that to her often. It had not been the happiest of holidays after her mom's death and Ryan's disappearance. Half the time her father had been working on Christmas and Christmas Eve, and even when the two of them were home together, memories of the happier past tended to intrude. Shaking her head, Dana headed back to the station's kitchen. She had only been working here about a year, but she had to say that both the paramedic crew and the fire crew had made her at home.

Of course, it did help that she knew one of the firefighters already working here. Carter Grayson had been one of the shift leaders here when she had started, and Dana was delighted to be working with him again.

"Dana?" Speaking of which, Carter's voice drew her out of her thoughts. "Have Ryan and Kelsey headed home? It's starting to snow, and they probably won't want to on the roads soon."

She turned and offered him a smile. "They just left."

"Good. It's probably going to be a crazy night."

Dana didn't doubt that. Christmas Eve and the first snow Mariner Bay had seen in years made for a disaster waiting to happen. She had no doubt that they would be dealing with multiple calls tonight. Their shift weren't actually on call for another hour, but if it kept snowing, that was when trouble was really going to start.

The two of them worked in companionable silence as they prepped for the evening. Thermoses of coffee were made, though Dana ended up filling hers with hot chocolate. Carter double checked the little used snow equipment. The last time it had snowed in Mariner Bay had been nearly five years ago, and while the fire station had snow equipment, it was rarely used. Tonight, however, it was going to be. There was already half a foot of snow on the ground, and it was sticking. Dana double checked the stock of blankets in the ambulance and added a few stuffed animals to the supplies. They were always good for dealing with unhappy or hurt children. A blanket and a teddy bear could do wonders in the aftermath of a car accident.

Before long, the rest of the crew had joined them as they prepped for the evening's shift. Both the ambulance and the fire truck were chained up as it was clear that the snow was not going any where. The last check with the weather station had informed them that they were getting the edge of a winter storm, and that the snow was not expected to stop until mid-day tomorrow. Both the fire engine and the ambulance were rolling out almost as soon as the shift started.

Carter had been right. It was an all together crazy night. Dana had lost track of how many calls they had gone on so far. She knew was the lucky one. The first crews probably had twice the number of calls that the paramedics did, and they spent more time working outside. It was car accidents more than anything tonight. There had only been two fires that Dana knew of, and thankfully, those had been taken care of quickly. There had been no loss of life and only a little property damage. She'd seen Carter a couple of times in the course of the night. They'd worked two car accidents together earlier, but Dana hadn't seen him in a few hours.

She was relieved to be heading back to the station. She was chilled to the bone and exhausted. Being someplace warm and where she didn't have to worry about slipping on ice sounding wonderful to her. Unfortunately, they ended up with one last call before they could end their shift. Yet another car accident, this time with some serious injuries. When they arrived this time, Dana found Carter's engine there as well as a police car. While her co-workers prepped one of the women with a broken leg for transit, Dana went over to check on the other woman who seemed to have a gash on her forehead.

What Dana did not expect was for the woman punch her when she tried to bandage the gash. The blow took her by complete surprise, and at the end of the night, her reflexes were not in top form. Dana stumbled back, tripping over her own feet, and tumbled to the ground. Dana liked snow. She really did. But it was also cold and wet and when you were sitting in about a foot of it, it could be very uncomfortable. And it did not help that she had just been punched in the face. She had taken worse in Ranger fights, but it still hurt.

The woman took off running, only to be caught by the police officer. Carter crouched down in front of her.

"Are you okay, Dana?"

She nodded and managed a smile as well as a wince. "My pride is hurt more than anything."

He pulled her to her feet. "You're hands are freezing. Come on. Let's get you back to the station. Your shift is almost over anyway, and we should get you some ice, so you don't end up with a black eye."

Dana let him bundled her into the fire truck. Carter climbed in beside her, and they were soon underway. She actually dozed off a bit during the trip, waking only when they arrived back at the fire station. Somehow, she ended up at the kitchen table there with an icepack for her eye and sipping peppermint hot chocolate while Carter filled out the post shift paperwork.

"Are we still on for dinner at your dad's tomorrow?"

Dana nodded. "He heard back from Chad yesterday. He'll be able to make it, and he's brining Marina. Joel and Angela won't be back from her parents yet, but they're coming for New Year's."

With a sigh, she stared out the window. It was still snowing. They were up to about a foot and a half of snow now. Tomorrow was going to be the first white Christmas in a decade. Carter caught her eye and grinned.

"You do know that there's going to be a snowball fight in the morning, right?"

Dana laughed. "Paramedics versus firefighters? Of course. We're going to win you know."

"We'll see about that."

It would be fun. That much was sure. Probably all of the off shift firefighters and paramedics here would participate. And Karl had agreed to make his famous cinnamon rolls for breakfast. There would be stockings for everyone working tonight and tomorrow, mostly stuffed with little things like toothbrushes, batteries, and gag gifts. They might be working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but that didn't mean that they couldn't celebrate. Besides, really the fire station was one big extended family.

"Oh. Hey, before I forget." Carter pulled a brightly wrapped package out of his pocket. "I wanted to give you this outside of the craziness of the tradition fire house Christmas morning. Merry Christmas, Dana."

She accepted the gift, feeling her cheeks flush. "Your gift is at Dad's."

"Don't worry about it."

Dana carefully pried open the red and green paper as Carter bit his lip. Taking the lid off the black box revealed a little silver caduceus suspended on a delicate silver chain.

"Since you're starting medical school in the spring, I thought it was appropriate. I hope you like it."

"It's perfect." Dana leaned over the table to kiss his cheek. "Thank you."

Her yawn marred the moment. Carter laughed.

"Sounds like it's bedtime. We could both use the rest."

It took the two of them only a As they parted to go their separate ways to their bedrooms, Dana stopped and touched Carter's arm.

"Hey, Carter. Merry Christmas. And we are definitely going to win the snowball fight tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night, Dana." He kissed her cheek. "See you in the morning."

Dana went to bed with a smile.


End file.
